Jessica Cheng
About 100 teachers in Terengganu have refused to be vaccinated against Covid-19, says Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar (pic).
He said, however, this represented only a small percentage of the overall number of teachers serving in the state.
“I do not know their excuses for not accepting the vaccine jabs.
“I only told them to reconsider their decision for the good of all parties including their families and pupils,” he told reporters on Monday (Sept 13) after the opening ceremony of the Fourth Term of the 14th State Legislative Assembly at Wisma Darul Iman here.
Ahmad Samsuri said for the time being, the only approach is to persuade them to accept vaccination as there are no regulations or laws providing for any action against them.
Asked if the teachers who declined vaccination need to undergo random Covid-19 screening tests when the school session starts, Ahmad Samsuri said: “ It may be one way. If they are willing to take a test every two weeks, it is up to them.”
State local government, housing, health and environment committee chairman Dr Alias Razak said when met that intensive care unit (ICU) bed usage in Terengganu is still high, at more than 75%.
He added that this was a factor for Terengganu not moving to Phase Three of the National Recovery Plan yet.
“We need ICU occupancy to be at 50% to move to Phase Three. A Covid-19 patient’s average stay in the ICU is 21 days and this is a long time.
“Even though the daily ICU admissions is low, occupancy gets higher over the 21 days,” he said, adding that ICU occupancy was expected to drop in three weeks.
In another development, state entrepreneurship, human resource, micro industry and hawker affairs committee chairman Mohd Nurkhuzaini Ab Rahman, who tested positive for Covid-19 last week, was reported to be in stable condition.
The Kota Putera assemblyman was admitted to Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital with a fever and is expected to be discharged from the hospital soon. – Bernama
